That explained the absence of ravens in the courtyard.
Elara closed her eyes briefly, trying to calm her racing heart. This plan was doomed. With Edgar increasing patrols and all his ravens deployed, she'd be spotted in an instant.
Dario touched her arm, his eyes narrowing as if really seeing her for the first time since they’d started talking. His eyes lingered on her disguise, a smirk slowly forming on his lips. “What are you wearing? Don’t tell me Avis is trying to indoctrinate you.”
Despite herself, her lips twitched into a smile. “As if theHallowedcould ever join such ranks.”
His eyebrows climbed higher, a spark of mischief lighting up his gaze. “What's this, then? Playing out one of your hidden fantasies? The virtuous Druid waiting at the gates, longing for a roguish knight to whisk her away?”
She smacked his arm with a quick flick of her wrist, drawing a theatrical wince from him. “You're insufferable,” she scolded. “Of all times, you choosenowto joke?”
But Dario's amusement faded quickly as he noticed her exposed hand, where Algernon’s ring shimmered in the setting sun. His expression turned deadly serious; his eyes wide as they settled back on her. “Where did you get that?”
“Does it really matter?”
Dario's face paled. “Forget that youstolesomeone’s ring and guards are likely out there right now looking for it—foryou.” She started to shake her head, but he cut her off, his tone growing more urgent. “This ring’s power isn’t enough to get past all the security measures. There are protocols, safeguards in place…” His voice trailed off, his expression contorting as if the words caused him physical pain. “By dawn, you’ll be in chains, andI’llbe the one forced to drag you back in them…”
He shook his head as if to rid himself of the haunting vision. But one of his statements stood out to her.
“How long would it take Edgar to notice my absence?”
He raked a hand down his face. “Maybe a few hours… at best.”
Elara’s voice softened to almost a whisper. “That could work.”
Dario's mouth opened, perhaps to chide her again, but the crunch of footsteps nearby cut him off. Instantly his hand clasped hers, tugging her further behind the wall, to the very edge of the courtyard where the protective wards hummed softly. Pressing a finger to his lips, he drew her close, her body pressed against his. She could feel his heart pounding againsther chest, a rapid thud echoing her own. As the footsteps gradually receded, Dario exhaled a heavy sigh of relief, dipping his head until his forehead rested gently against hers.
“Why do you want to leave?”
The question hung in the air, so naive it almost made her scream. Her disbelief must have been painted across her face because it took him only a moment to catch the absurdity of his question, and with a sheepish twist of his lips, he withdrew, shoving his hands into the safety of his pockets.
“All I need is a handful of hours.”
His eyes sharpened. “For?”
A sigh caught in her throat. She felt torn between confiding in him and protecting him from the web of her plans. “There’s someone I need to meet.”
His expression morphed from confusion to outright betrayal, leaving his mouth agape in shock—a sight so unexpected that she nearly laughed. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“El, for the love of all that’s sacred, speak plainly.”
She sighed, struggling to find the right words. “This is my mess to handle. I don’t want you getting tangled up in it. We’re… well, I’d like to think we’re friends…”
That word lingered in the air, weighted with everything they had left unsaid. What exactly were they to each other? Their relationship was a patchwork of stolen moments and charged looks. Could a handful of whispered conversations and one close night really mean they were friends? She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t even certain she knew what true friendship looked like. Is a friend someone who shields you from the harsh realities of life? Or is it someone who dives into the thick of it with you?
Out of everyone close to her, Dario and Avis were the two she might consider friends. But both had watched her suffer and did nothing. They never rebuked the Lord Sovereign’s abuse or spoke against him. Sure, they checked on her, made sureshe was okay, but they never really helped her or validated her feelings. Was that friendship? Maybe she didn’t understand the term because she had no real experience. Maybe this was what friendship looked like. She knew they had their own lives to think of and protect, and she would never want them to jeopardize themselves. She just wished... she didn’t know. For something more?
The shift in her emotions must have been clear on her face, for Dario closed the space between them. He tilted his head, attempting to meet her gaze. “Elara,” he murmured, the word holding more weight than a mere name. “Let’s get one thing straight. You and I? We’re friends. In every sense of the word. Trust it. If you trust nothing else.”
Warmth blossomed within her, radiating outward, seeking the icy shards that had encased her heart since Fenlin’s death. She felt it begin to thaw the frozen fragments, drawing the pieces of her fractured self closer. A smile spread across her lips. They were friends. It wasn’t about the grand gestures or daring rescues, but perhaps, in his own way, Dario’s subtle acts of kindness were his method of extending a hand in the darkness, to let her know she wasn’t alone.
“Good,” she whispered, her grin mirroring his.
“Friends share…” His words were light and teasing, but the look in his eyes was not.
Elara paused, her gaze tracing the familiar contours of his face that had become dear to her—the curve of his full lips, the sharp line of his nose, and the warmth radiating from his honey-brown eyes, always so open, and kind. Like Avis, he warranted shielding from the shadows that perpetually trailed her. But he already knew about the ring…
Before she could think better of it, she found herself spilling the sequence of recent events: Fenlin’s betrayal, Avis’s caution,the cryptic note from Godfrey, and the unexpected aid from Algernon.
